A man holds a portrait of Sultan Munadi, who was a translator for a New York Times reporter, during a prayer ceremony at his grave in Kabul. Photograph: Musadeq Sadeq/AP

Angry Afghan journalists have accused the British military of double standards for leaving behind the body of translator Sultan Munadi after rescuing the British journalist Stephen Farrell from the Taliban.

Munadi reportedly died in a hail of gunfire as British commandos carried out a dramatic Wednesday morning raid on a compound near the northern city of Kunduz where the two New York Times journalists had been kidnapped four days earlier.

Military officials say it is not clear whether Munadi was hit by British or Taliban fire. However Farrell said he heard British voices moments after the shooting, and mourners who saw Munadi's body said he had been shot three times in the head and chest.

More than 50 reporters carrying notebooks and cameras held a press conference by Munadi's grave where they blamed his death on "reckless and double standard behaviour" by the international forces.

The newly formed Media Club of Afghanistan said it was "inhumane" to leave Munadi's body behind while retrieving that of a British soldier killed in the operation and whisking Farrell to safety.

"Everybody's so angry," said Aleem Agha, a producer for ABC news. "If this happens to Sultan it could happen to me tomorrow. All of us here are risking our lives to work with the international media. We deserve better."

Munadi's body was eventually recovered by villagers who called the New York Times office in Kabul using his abandoned mobile phone. Staff at a local hospital put the body into a coffin and sent it to Kabul, said the Kunduz provincial governor, Muhammad Omar.

The British commando killed in the raid has been named as Corporal John Harrison from the Parachute Regiment.

British officials said the soldiers came under heavy Taliban gun and rocket fire during the rescue. Gordon Brown's office said the mission was authorised as the "best chance of protecting life".

The controversy brings into sharp focus the role of "fixers" – local journalists who provide international reporters with vital translation services, logistical advice and cultural guidance. Fixers are well paid but often take considerable risks, and complain of being treated as second-class journalists by western organisations when things go wrong.

Two years ago the Taliban beheaded the fixer Ajmal Naqshbandi in Helmand. Weeks earlier the Italian government had paid a ransom to free the journalist he was working with, Daniele Mastrogiacomo.

Debate has raged inside Kabul's western community about whether the crisis over Farrell could have been peacefully resolved. Sources said the Red Cross and local journalists in Kunduz had been negotiating with a Taliban commander right up to the British raid.

But a senior Afghan official insisted special forces had to act because intelligence indicated the Taliban intended to move the hostages to Pakistan.

There was some criticism of Farrell, a 46-year-old veteran war reporter who has joint British and Irish nationality. In a blog yesterday, the reporter admitted he stayed "uncomfortably long" at the site of a Nato air strike in a Taliban-infested area four miles from Kunduz.

"Everyone was telling Steve to leave the area because the Taliban will be coming. But he kept saying 'another five minutes'," said Agha, who said he had spoken with Farrell's driver. In his blog, Farrell paid an emotional tribute to Munadi who, he wrote, "died trying to help me, right up to the very last seconds of his life".

The strongest censure has been reserved for the military. Sensitivities were heightened by a Nato press release that paid tribute to the soldier who "paid the ultimate price in recovering a British citizen from the hands of the Taliban" but made no mention of Munadi. A western diplomat in Kabul said British officials misjudged the situation. "It's playing very badly. They initially thought this would be a good news story. I don't [think] the British appreciated the depth of emotion it would stir."

Colonel Wayne Shanks, a US and Nato spokesman, said the rescue deaths were "tragic" but it was wrong to point fingers. "I don't think that during the middle of a firefight anyone can blame someone for what they did or did not do," he told the Associated Press.

The episode could have a political impact. Civilian casualties from Nato air raids, such as the one Farrell was investigating, have become highly sensitive in Afghanistan. Munadi's death could sharpen public anger about western attitudes towards Afghan deaths.

The Afghan journalists' group condemned the Taliban for kidnapping the two journalists and called on local and international media outlets to boycott all cover of the Taliban for three days.